Name and Location
Bakubung platinum group metals (PGMs) mine project, North West, South Africa.

Client
JSE-listed Wesizwe Platinum.

Project Description
The Bakubung platinum mine project, formerly known as the Frischgewaagd-Ledig project, is located in the western limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, north of the City of Rustenburg, in the North West.

The project entails the construction of a PGM mine on Wesizwe Platinum's core assets.

The project will consist of an underground mine and takes into account the establishment of all surface infrastructure, servitudes for bulk power and water supply, the sinking and equipping of ventilation and main shafts, the associated underground infrastructure, the ancillary excavations and the access development to establish a footprint for full production.

The proposed access to the orebody will be through the sinking of an independent twin vertical-shaft system. This will comprise a 1 000-m-deep, 8.5-m-diameter downcast men-and-materials and hoisting shaft, as well as a 930-m-deep upcast ventilation shaft, 7.5 m in diameter. The shafts will be strategically positioned to provide the most effective access to both reef horizons.

The mine is specifically designed for optimum flexibility in terms of mining method (conventional, mechanised or hybrid) and allows for fast production build-up to enhance shareholder value in the project.

The project has an estimated life-of-mine of 35 years at a production rate of 230 000 t/m, producing an average of 350 000 oz/y of platinum-group elements during steady-state production. Initially, 180 000 t/m will be mined from the Merensky reef, with the balance coming from the secondary upper group two (UG2) ore. When the Merensky reef is depleted, between 10 and 15 years after the start of production, the full 230 000 t capacity will be generated from UG2 ore.

The mine will permanently employ a minimum of 3 200 workers when in full production, of whom 120 would work at the process plant and 1 800 underground.

Value
The capital cost estimate for the project is forecast at R7.9-billion and, with expected inflation and cost escalation, is expected to rise to R12-billion.

Duration
Main commissioning is scheduled for 2018 and full production is expected in 2023.

Latest Developments
Wesizwe plans to table the results of an optimisation study for board approval, which could enable its Bakubung mine to ramp up to full production two years earlier than scheduled.

The study, currently under way, will result in the Rustenburg-based operations achieving a maximum output of 350 000 oz/y of platinum by 2021, instead of the currently expected third quarter of 2023, according to Bakubung GM Eddie Mohlabi.

The optimisation plan, if adopted, could allow for start-up as early as 2017, although Wesizwe corporate affairs and investor relations executive Hamlet Morule has declined to provide a more definitive timeline.

The platinum miner has also reviewed the original processing plant feasibility study.

Meanwhile, Wesizwe is finalising the terms and conditions of a $650-million loan facility that was approved by the China Development Bank in January. The miner has also secured two further $100-million loan facilities.

This comes as Wesizwe announced in October that it had decided not to fund its 26% initial cash call share of the Western Bushveld joint venture (WBJV) Project 1 with TSX- and NYSE-listed Platinum Group Metals (PTM), as it planned to inject all funds into Bakubung.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
TWP Projects (feasibility study and current engineering, procurement and construction management contract); Scribante Construction (earthworks and civil work Phase 1); Benco Engineering (blasting); Blast Management & Consulting (blast monitoring); Eskom (power supply); Liviero (civil earthworks and concrete) and Aveng Grinaker-LTA Mining (shaft-sinking contract).

On Budget and on Time?
The development of Bakubung was currently on schedule and within budget, with first production scheduled for the first quarter of 2018.

Contact Details for Project Information
Wesizwe Platinum, Hamlet Morule, tel +27 11 994 4600, fax +27 11 944 4601 or email hamlet@wesizwe.com.
Scribante Construction, tel +27 11 466 9232, fax +27 11 466 9233 or email office@scribanteconstruction.co.za.
TWP Projects, tel +27 11 218 3000, fax +27 11 218 3100 or email twpinfo@twp.co.za; or MD Digby Glover, email dglover@twp.co.za.
Aveng Grinaker-LTA, +27 11 578 6000 or fax +27 11 578 6161.